


A Seal-pelt Proposal (Monster Girlfriend Story: Selkie x Reader)

by autumn_lesbian



Category: Original Work
Genre: Accidental Relationship, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Reader-Insert, Selkies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23507167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumn_lesbian/pseuds/autumn_lesbian
Summary: You greatly misjudge the severity of a storm, and a friendly seal saves you. Turns out the seal is actually a Selkie, and you just accidentally proposed to her.Feel free to request other creatures!
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Comments: 5
Kudos: 127





	A Seal-pelt Proposal (Monster Girlfriend Story: Selkie x Reader)

You live in the north, by the coast. The ocean is cold and gray almost year-round, and frequent winds carry rain and salty air. A day's trip by horseback from the nearest village, you're isolated from much of the rest of the world. Your parents gone and siblings having moved to the city, you live and work in your little cottage mostly by yourself. You have your dog, of course– an elkhound named Aegir. Other than that, it's just you. Fishing, gathering berries, cutting firewood. You and Aegir.

Seals share your waters, and you're quite found of them. They're graceful and dark, spots of black and gray swimming beneath the waves. Whenever you catch fish too small or mangled by the hook to cut up and sell, you toss them back into the water for the seals to enjoy. You like to think that they like you too, with the way they swim laps around your boat, chirping and barking all the while.

\-----×-----

It's an overcast November afternoon, and with Aegir resting inside, you decide to go out on the water one last time before the sun begins to set. You take your smaller fishing dingy, as you don't plan to be long.

Just as you feel your first bite on your line, you spot darker gray clouds rolling in from the horizon. It begins to rain moments later. You appreciate it, the cool droplets a welcome change of temperature on your bundled-up and warm face. You're in no hurry to reel in your line. The rain is heavy, but storms are typically mild at worst this time of year.

Not this one.

It gets bad fast. Waves, which minutes ago were small and lapped gently at the side of your boat, now threaten to spill in. The soft sound of rain pattering against the water turns into a cacophony of wet sheets and churning depths.  
Slightly panicking, you reel in and start to pack up your gear. Waves are getting higher and rain is weighing down your clothes. All you can hear is the roar of rain and ocean.

And suddenly, all you see is a dark wave, easily twenty feet tall and looming over your little boat.

\-----×-----

You find yourself floating in quiet, with only the ambient sound of water around you. You open your eyes to see the underside of the waves, and locks of your hair floating around your face. The respite from the din of the storm, combined with the feeling of being gentle rocked beneath the ocean's current, is almost comforting.

Except you need to breathe.

You kick towards the surface, fighting the weight of your water-logged clothing. You're thrust back into chaos when you break water. Salt stings your eyes and water clogs your nose. Nonetheless, you thankfully inhale and do your best to tread water. That is, until another wave sends you back under.

This time, you are not met with the ambient sound of being underwater, but with the playful chirps and barks of seals. You swim back to air and blindly fumble for anything– your bucket, a piece of your boat, anything to cling to and keep your head above water with.

You end up touching the soft fur of a seal, who, surprisingly, allows you to grab on. Confused but grateful, you hold on, and the seal swims you back to shallow waters.

You crawl onto the wet sand, rain still coming down around you. For a moment, you remain on your hands and knees. Finally, a moment to cough the water out of your lungs.

Your boat is on the beach to your left, damaged but in one piece, and the seal is now nowhere to be found. Instead, to your right sits a dark-haired woman, eyes as deep and grey as the sea. A long seal-pelt cloak is draped over her shoulders.

"Hi?" you manage to sputter out between coughs.  
"Are you okay?" she asks. Her voice is deep and calming, like the waves during autumn. She smells like salt and sand, with a hint of something else you can't quite place. She smells good.  
Saltwater still burns your nose and throat, and you shiver slightly.  
"I'm cold. But I'm okay. Thank you." You cough again. "Who are you? The nearest town isn't for miles."  
"We've already met," she says. You sit up, confused. She appears to hesitate at first, but takes off her cloak, wraps it around you, and helps you up. She walks you up the path to your house, where Aegir greets you at the door, tail wagging and tongue lolled to one side.

You and the woman stand silently in your entryway. You thank her again, and hand her back her cloak.

Her eyes go wide.

"You gave it back. I took a risk giving it to you as I did." She seems at a loss for words. "But you gave it back. I trusted you in your time of need, and you gave me back my pelt."

You look at her in confusion. _Her pelt? It's just a normal cloak that she lent me. I don't see the big deal_ , you think to yourself. 

But then you connect the dots. Selkies. Stories your parents would tell you of women who could change shape from seal to human by shedding their skin. Humans who would steal and hide their pelts, trapping the selkie forever with them.

And humans returning their pelts. A display of trust and commitment akin to a wedding proposal. A gesture that says "I love you enough to let you live with or without me."

She clears her throat softly. "I accept your proposal," she says, wrapping her pelt back around her shoulders.

"Wait, what?" you ask. "I don't even know your name! And you're a selkie? I mean, given the whole seal pelt thing, now it makes sense but-"

She cuts you off. "My name is Seng." Your thoughts are racing. She certainly is beautiful, and she _did_ just save your life, but marriage?!

"I'm Y/N. I-"

Seng cuts you off again. "I know that this may be fast for you. But it's selkie tradition, and my parents would be incredulous if they found I went against it. And it was only a matter of time until someone stole my cloak." She takes a shaky breath. "I would rather be with a kind stranger such as yourself, than risk being trapped in a cruel man's home." Another pause. "So let's get to know each other, shall we?"

\-----×-----

What began as an awkward exchange of pleasantries in front of the fireplace slowly became something more intimate. The two of you talk, finding you share much in common despite your different worlds. Your shared love for the sea, your principles, your passion for life.

Of course, you have polite disagreements over more surface-level opinions regarding favorite games to play and food to eat (unlike Seng, you don't hunt and eat fish raw with your bare hands). Still, as you move closer in conversation, you found yourself moving closer physically as well.  
By the time the sun had sank fully below the curved horizon, you, Seng, and Aegir are nestled in a warm pile before the fire's dying embers. You talk well into the night, the not-quite-full moon rising high above your cottage and sending beams of moonlight through the windows.

At the same time, Seng's light melancholy air about her slowly disappears, as she knows she will be safe with you– no more worries of men trying to steal her pelt and trap her, no more hiding from humans or counting the hours spent on land. She can have both the land and the sea, and she will come back to you without coercion. And you don't mind, as you will no longer be alone.

You are not in love. Seng isn't either. But one day, you will be. And she will be too.

Aegir sleepily rolls off your lap and onto the cushions with a soft thump. He jerks back to conscienceness, with his head tilted and ears flopped to one side. Seng laughs.

You smile, but not at Aegir. You're watching Seng, and how the moonlight shimmers in her eyes. Softly but affectionately, you kiss her cheek. She stops laughing and looks at you, her mouth still open with a lopsided smile and cheeks pink with laughter. She cups your cheek, looks you in the eyes, and leans in.

She tastes the way she smells. The mineral, petrichor taste of seawater.

\-----×-----

It's April now, and she's still with you. Spring has come over the coast, and rosebay and other wildflowers grow along the path to your cottage. The cold coastal air isn't quite as biting as it was in November, but you spend late afternoons keeping warm with Seng all the same. Every evening she leaves to swim with the seals beneath the moon, and every morning she returns for another day of her life with you.

When November comes back around, the flowers will go dormant yet again, and the air will lose its spring and summertime mildness. So much will return to the way it was before. The bitter winds will return. But this time, you will not be nearly as cold.

**Author's Note:**

> To request a story/monster, comment below or send me a message on my tumblr (see profile)!


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